Last week, AllHipHop.com and Nah Right turned the hip hop communities attention to an article in the Economist in which Cristal’s Frédéric Rouzaud expressed distate for American rap stars’ patronage of the high priced champagne. Nah Right blogger Eskay even called for a boycott. Now Jay-Z is joining in the fun by announcing that neither he nor his 40-40 Club will be buying Cristal in the future.
While this may appear to be a form of brand self-destruction, given the extremely limited supplies and the elite image of this product, the boycott actually may be just what Cristal management desires, unless rich white socialites decide to join the boycott. No matter the outcome, it’s the right thing to do.
Further Coverage: Boycott All Roederer Products, Not Just Cristal
The Complete Account:
ProHipHop Coverage & Analysis of Jay-Z’s Cristal Boycott
Good call by Jigga.
It’s understandable that President Carter is boycotting, particularly since he’s been so good to the brand. However, after over 1 BILLION people saw the minstrelsy of Three 6 Mafia at the Oscars, I can’t necessarily blame them for wanting to distance themselves from what mainstream hip hop has become.
Actually, the Three 6 Mafia performance was closer to a Broadway musical than anything I’ve seen out of hip hop in a while. I’d check for music videos to understand what elite Frenchmen might find problematic. Oh yeah, and lyrical content and crime reports.